Unvaccinated still welcome in restaurants and shops, for now

South Africa’s unvaccinated shoppers and foodies don’t have to worry about being denied entry to shops and restaurants just yet, with local eateries and retailers saying they respect their customers’ freedom of choice.

Countries around the world have introduced mandatory vaccines for staff and even customers. In the USA, restaurant operator Union Square Hospitality group and other restaurant owners have made it mandatory for their customers to be jabbed, refusing to serve those who have not been inoculated.

Locally by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) proposed a similar hard line earlier this week, calling for tight restrictions on unvaccinated citizens.

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They suggested that rules include banning the unvaxxed from entering public places such as malls, sporting events, and restaurants. Since the retail, hospitality, and tourism sectors employ almost two million workers, they can’t afford another lockdown during the festive season, Cosatu had said.

Restaurants ‘won’t discriminate’

But it seems some of the country’s businesses and retailers are not considering this option just yet.

The Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA) said that this is a not a decision they are willing to make, as they do not discriminate against customers. Instead, they say, it is up to the government to decide whether such a mandate is necessary, said RASA’s Wendy Alberts.

“We’ve ticked every single box with government. We have done social distancing, sanitizing, registers. We have taken our areas outdoors. There is no evidence that you get Covid in restaurants and that you’re a high-risk spreader. We are not going to do government’s job. President Cyril Ramaphosa should take decisions on what should happen,” Alberts said.

“We are not discriminating. Government must do their job around that.”

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Respect customers’ ‘freedom of choice’

Giant retailer Game shared the same stance.

Despite the company promoting Covid vaccination by offering a 10% discount to those who received the jab, unvaccinated customers won’t be turned away.

Game’s vice-president of marketing Katherine Madley said they respect people’s freedom of choice around the vaccine, as getting a jab remains voluntary.

“[We] by no means oblige any of our customers or staff to share their vaccination status with us if they do not wish to do so. We do believe in the effectiveness of vaccinations to keep our employees and customers safe. We remain aware that the vaccination is a voluntary activity,” Madley said.

Multinational retail and food company Woolworths is also focused on promoting vaccine drives among its employees. The retailer said the safety of customers and their staff is of top priority.

“The safety of our customers and our people is our top priority. Internally, we have a vaccination drive providing resources, education, and support to our people, and we are encouraging all of our staff to get vaccinated. We will continue to look for ways to incentivise and support this initiative,” said Woolworths.

Vooma before you Vaya!

Meanwhile, the department of health will be kicking off another round of “Vooma Week” as of Friday, meant to increase vaccination numbers ahead of the festive season.

All provinces will be requested to increase the number of vaccination sites and extend them to more travel hubs, shopping malls, and recreational areas, with the aim of vaccinating 1 million people during the week.

rorisangk@citizen.co.za